Draw Me Nearer James 4:8

“Draw Me Nearer”

“Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded.” James 4:8

The devil wants us to believe we cannot be close to God.
He wants us to think that it is difficult to fellowship with Him.
We must trust what God says rather than what Satan tries to put
in our minds.
Here we have a clear invitation to draw closer to God.
What a privilege to fellowship with our heavenly Father! The
request also comes with a promise that if we draw nigh to Him,
then He will draw nigh to us. The promise is as wonderful as
the invite itself. What hinders the believer from taking
advantage of this divine appointment? What keeps us from
claiming the promise of fellowship? The answer can be one of
three things mentioned in our verse. First, it could be dirty
hands; fellowship is broken whenever a child of God is
committing sin. One cannot be close to Him when doing
things that displease the Lord. You need to cleanse your hands
of sinful deeds. The second hindrance could be an impure
heart. Perhaps you have something in your heart that shouldn’t
be there. You have an inward struggle that is unyielded to
Christ or unconfessed sin that grieves the Holy Ghost. The
way to purifying one’s heart is by confessing the hidden sins to
God. After confession, take the time to memorize a verse that
will replace the problem that was there. Hide God’s Word in
your heart (cf. Psa. 119:11). Finally, it could be a double-
mind. Be sure you make some decisions that remove the
doubt from your life. Quit sitting on the fence of life, trust the
Lord to help you and allow Him to guide you. – R.G.

Prepared by Roger Fulk, from excerpts from the “Baptist Bread” June 15, 2023, devotional by author DR. RICK GRAVLEY, Pastor, Bible Baptist Church, Rossville, Rossville, GA. With permission from Tim Green, editor of Baptist Bread. The Baptist Bread